2016-10-27T10:57:30+02:00http://radianttap.com/Octopress2015-11-21T15:10:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/run-5k-for-watchos-2-is-no-goQuite a few months ago, I announced that next version of Run 5k will feature exciting stuff: full watchOS 2 support, ability to use heart rate sensor on it, run without the iPhone etc.

Well…hard news : not going to happen. At least not for now.

This is a very hard post for me to write, as I have invested about two months working on this update. It’s still not fully and properly done, but it’s usable as beta and I had a good fortune of quite a lot of you interested to try it out.

But it’s not going to happen because in the shipping version of watchOS 2, Apple disabled the ability to use timers unless your app is visible on the screen. As soon as the screen goes off, for whatever reason that happens, app is suspended and thus timers are stopped.

Having timers working properly while the app is active is crucial feature for Run 5k. That’s what allows it to tell you when exactly to change pace between jog and walk.

I’m not alone in my struggle, judging by multiple threads related to this in Apple’s Developer Forums. I filed bug reports with Apple which were closed as duplicate very quickly which means that more developers are reporting this as issue.

I doubt it will help, as this conversation with Jake Behrens, Apple Developer Evangelist for watchOS, clearly shows that this is chosen behavior for now and not a bug.

@radiantav@run5k I would work around it, as that is the current behavior of watchOS at play.

Current version of Run 5k works rather well on iOS side, while its watch app is at least tolerable. So yeah…that will have to do.

]]>2015-08-03T22:56:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/keeping-my-head-above-waterWhen I was making plans to update Run 5k for the watchOS 2, my initial intent was to simply add support for heart sensor on Apple Watch and pretty much leave the rest of the app as it was. It’s pretty good as it is, with some platform-specific issues on the watch side which I expected to be resolved by simply having the app be standalone.

Doing the work though, I realized this will not really be possible. I need to re-write watch app from scratch and significantly update iOS app to properly support the running with watch as main device (more on that later).

Thus a major announcement: Run 5k v6.0 with support for iOS 9 and watchOS 2 will require Apple Health and require both Core Location and Motion.

First reason – watchOS 2 drastically changes things for developers. It’s not a mere update where you get to read heart rate sensor values like I currently do with external Bluetooth-based chest or wrist HR monitors. It’s integrated very much into the Apple Health workflows and you need to have the Health Workout session started and maintained throughout the run. For example: you can’t keep the (standalone) watch app running in foreground with watch screen off if you don’t use HealthKit. That alone requires pretty substantial rewrite.

Further, the way iPhone and watch app exchange data and where they actually communicate (in code) have also changed entirely, thus I can’t transfer the data from the iPhone to the Watch in the same way I did before. Hence, total rewrite.

Second – having a powerful watch app means that Run 5k is now two-headed beast. In watchOS 2, you can – as it looks to me at the moment – run and complete an entire session without the phone at all. And still have the distance, pace, heart rate data, calories etc; all except the track map. That opens up the issue of syncing data back and forth, maintain the progress on both ends etc. I’m still wrestling with details on how to approach this. But it’s an awesome new feature and any decent running app will have it. It’s not that I simply must add this feature to keep Run 5k relevant – I want it to be there.

What’s clear immediately though is that I will need to re-factor some of my oldest, most reliable code inside the iOS app to support this. Which would mean a lot of new testing if things stay as they are.

Third – and this a biggie – Run 5k is a very old app. Some parts of it are picked out from Run Mate, my very first iOS app I wrote back in 2009. That means that there are a lot of code I have kept in order to maintain compatibility with previous versions.

As iOS and iPhones have matured over time, I have added more and more options and combinations of options, as requested by people. Thus Run 5k now supports all kinds of ways to run: you can run with location tracking on/off, with motion tracking on/off, with/without background music. Run 5k had heart rate monitor support before Apple even announced HealthKit where you get it (almost) for free. You can have Apple Health turned on and off. You can have calories calculated. Or not.
Etc.

On top of all that, now I have to shoehorn support for the Apple Watch.

After 4 years, I feel like I have created my own vast sea from which I can’t see the shore anymore.
Sounds melodramatic but it really is overwhelming. I’m just a single guy doing this and Run 5k – as it is now – requires way more time than I can justify spending on it.

Hence the announcement from above: I will update Run 5k for iOS 9 and watchOS 2, but some corners have to be cut. Run 5k 6.0 will heavily leverage entire Apple Health platform. Which…has consequences.

How this impacts you

First, you really need to use Apple Health. Like, really.

If you don’t, you will no longer have distance, pace nor heart rate data measured in the app. Even if you are not using Apple Watch but 3rd party HR monitor, Run 5k will no longer see it on its own – all HR data will now come in from the HealthKit.

App will still do audio coaching in background on the iPhone (i.e. when screen is locked) if you have enabled Apple Health and/or have enabled Core Location. If you have none of those, I can’t guarantee that voice coaching will work in background.

On first start post-update, after you enable Apple Health, app will write all your existing workouts into it, so your running data will still be visible in the app.
If you don’t enable it, there is no guarantee that your older running data will remain.

Benefits

The most important benefit is that Run 5k will continue to thrive. I will be able to maintain it for the foreseeable future.

Next benefit is that run measures – like distance, pace and calories burned – will be much more accurate. So far, I have used my own algorithms for all of those. Many of those pre-date motion tracking (pedometer) on iPhone and Apple Health. I can’t possibly match Apple’s resources invested in their algorithms. Hell, I can’t even begin to think about matching what they do. And as such, values deviate here and there. Not by much, but they still do.

Apple have given me results of their hard work in the form of HealthKit framework and I would be foolish not to use it.
Further, Health data is automatically shared between iPhone and Apple Watch and the data syncing – the hardest part in this whole situation – is solved by Apple. (or so I hope)

Those are primary reasons why I’m going full-speed-Apple-Health.

Glimpse into the future

These days I’m doing first test runs of Run 5k using nothing but the Watch. Not even the iPhone is present in this picture. In ideal scenario, you will need:

Your running clothes and shoes

Bluetooth headphones connected directly to the Apple Watch where you have previously synced some motivational music

Apple Watch on your wrist with Run 5k started
and nothing else but nice weather.

Run 5k for watchOS 2 will tap your arm when you need to change pace during the training run thus not interrupting your music, ever. And at the end, you will see your results right on the watch app.

When you get home, you take the Watch off, place it anywhere close to your iPhone and while you shower all the data will be synced over. You can check your results in either Run 5k or in Apple’s own Activity app. Or in any other 3rd party app that’s leveraging Apple Health platform.

Here’s to the awesome future. Just few more months left.

]]>2015-05-25T17:27:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/much-improved-run-5k-apple-watch-appPheew. What an intense month this was, which resulted in almost entirely rewritten Apple Watch app for Run 5k.

There was always a difference in development and testing between working in the iOS Simulator and using the actual device, but I have never seen such a big gap between simulation and the real world case. The original Watch app I developed worked great in the Simulator and transfered data back and forth as needed. In reality though…

When I got my Apple Watch, I needed just few rounds around the block to realize just how much work I have yet to do. The connection is fragile and Watch OS is really agressive in kicking unused app from memory, which did not jive that well with Run 5k’s desire to keep current state of the run data in sync. Thus new version features new sync mechanism that makes sure Watch display is updated properly, at all times.
I hope that you will all like it and put it to good use, which will make all the effort worhtwhile.

As always, version 5.1 is free upgrade.

]]>2015-04-14T14:10:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/run-5k-is-apple-watch-readyIf you are one of the few lucky ones that would get your Apple Watch delivered on Apr 24th, you can start your Spring training in style with Run 5k, ver 5.0, which is available worldwide as free update on the App Store.

I have built the app to utilize the Watch in the best way possible: it works as both remote display and remote controller. The following video shows the iOS and Watch app working in sync.

From the Watch, you can see basic details of your last run, total summary of the entire plan so far and also a beautiful animated rendition of your progress, highlighting the next session to do.

Ready to run? Force-touch the watch and tap the menu button. You can even choose what you want to use for the tracking (GPS or pedometer).

Watch will display the time left in each stint as well as overall progress in beautifully rendered custom rings. This data is available in the glance as well.

One swipe away and you will see specific details, like distance, speed (or pace) and heart rate, if you have compatible HRM. At the moment, 3rd party Watch apps do not have access to heart rate sensor on the watch itself – as soon as Apple allows that, Run 5k will support it.

At any point during the run you can pause and continue, or stop and save the session. Looking forward to hear comments from you about the Watch app.

]]>2015-02-12T13:01:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/how-to-get-the-most-from-pinterests-organic-app-installsApp Store and Pinterest just launched great new avenue for driving organic app installation. In the Pinterest iOS app, when the pin’s URL is leading to one of App Store’s app pages, you will see the Install button at the very top.

You can create a pin through the App Store app, by simply sharing to Pinterest. However, your big graphic in the middle would be just the icon, which may not be the best choice for a pin. Pins work best when accompanied with visually rich image.

The trick to get lovely screenshot is to pin from the iTunes.apple.com web page. For example, for my Run 5k app, you browse to

then tap the Pinterest browser button and then will be able to choose the screenshot you want. (Spending time to prepare awesome screenshots pays its dividend here).

I am really happy to see this, as Pinterest audience is made of people preferring quality and good apps will shine there. Please do follow me on Pinterest.

]]>2015-01-10T15:48:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2015/pedometer-based-distance-trackingFor as long as Run 5k existed, there are few questions I kept being asked. One of them is:

Can I use this app on treadmill?

Until few days ago, all my answers would start with ”Yes, but…“ and I proceed to explain that voice coaching works anywhere, but unless you run outside with location tracking on, that’s all you get. Speed, distance, calorie calculations, maps – all that required GPS-based tracking.

Well, I have great news now. :)

Run 4.1, already available worldwide on the app store, now offers pedometer based running if you are using iPhone 5s, 6 or 6 Plus. Those iPhones have special chip – Apple named them M7 (iPhone 5s) and M8 (iPhone 6, 6 Plus) – dedicated to keep track of your motion activity. In combination with features available in iOS 8, this gave me ability to finally offer pretty precise distance and thus also speed tracking (which then enabled calorie calculations as well).

It can’t be easier to use this feature: if your iPhone has the said chip, on the run preview screen you will have the ability to choose do you want to use GPS (which is still default) or Pedometer.

Everything else works the same as usual – you simply enjoy some nice music along the way. No more excuses people – you can now run during the winter as well and prepare yourself for the spring races. Treadmill or indoor tracks, as you prefer.

Getting off the couch with Run 5k is perfect choice for new year resolution, which App Store editors recognized and featured us in the New Year, New You editorial.

2015 is shaping up to be a great year!

]]>2014-12-16T12:32:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/appsanta-bag-of-excellent-appsRadiant Tap is very proud to be part of AppSanta promotion during the Christmas 2014 period.

AppSanta is amazing collection of award-winning apps made by independent developers, all offered for up to 60% OFF! This is a rare chance to get high quality apps for more affordable prices than usual.

The AppSanta’s bag of goodies includes Go Couch to 5k and the Convertica bundle of Banca and Unitica converters – both available for $1.99, down from the usual $4.99.

Hurry up over to AppSanta to check out the full list of apps – the offer will be valid until few days after Christmas.

Don’t forget that you can also gift the apps to your friends and family: tap the share button on the App Store page and choose the Gift option.

Happy Holidays to all!

]]>2014-11-26T15:18:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/make-the-most-out-of-run-5ks-widget-in-ios-8While I have spent great deal of dev time on the Run 5k’s running view, I almost never see it. :) I usually run with the iPhone in my pocket and only see that screen during actual races, when I wear an armband.

During the training runs, I fish out my iPhone from time to time to check the stats. This is horribly troublesome to do – while you continue running – when you also have a passcode. Sweaty palms equals failing TouchID on iPhone 5s, so I need to swipe, type in passcode and check the numbers.

With iOS 8, this is all gone and I can just swipe down to reveal the Notification Center. If you are not running, it shows last session and the next session. Tap either of them and you are catapulted straight into the app, to the proper screen.

Best showcased using short video:

During the run though, it will show you a replica of the running view. If you are interested only in one parameter – say only the pace – tap that row and see only that row and the progress bar.

And once the run is done, widget will show you beautiful finish flag – tap it to open the run and save the final run details. That’s very important, must do it so the data in the app and the widget are all in-sync.

]]>2014-11-24T11:54:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/heart-rate-monitor-support-in-run-5kHRM is one of those nice-to-have features in a running app like Run 5k. It’s not required to do the run, but it sure is very useful and worth the money. In this post I’ll try to explain what are the benefits and what models you should seek out if you don’t already have one.

Which one to buy

First of all, the technical requirements: Run 5k support Bluetooth 4.0-based HRM devices. This version of Bluetooth is also called Low Energy (BTLE) or Bluetooth Smart. These devices are made to offer very long battery time (spanning months, possibly even years) and thus is the reason why iOS supports them that much. The upcoming ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ main communication is also based on BTLE. It’s really good and power-efficient communication platform for short-range devices.

I personally use Wahoo BlueHR which I bought few years ago and it still works very nice, with just one battery change so far. Wahoo does not longer makes this – they now have new model called Tickr which can only be better than the previous model. For Run 5k, the cheapest model (called just Tickr) is enough. Another well-thought off model is Polar H7. I’m sure there are others that would work fine, just make sure they are BTLE based and you are good to go.

Benefits

The main benefit of the HRM is that it’s the best indicator of how your overal fitness and running shape is improving. Since in each week of the program you are doing more or less identical distances, if you run with the same pace, your average heart rate should be more or less consistent over the runs. As you become more fit, you will be – over time – able to maintain the same pace with less effort and thus lower average HR.

HR is also a good indicator to show your physician in case you have medical concerns. If your HRM spikes from time to time, you should seek medical advice. Run 5k is designed to slowly increase your fitness thus your HR will be higher than during your normal daily activities, but it should not have spikes – it should rise up to (more or less) same levels across your jog and walk intervals. Jog intervals will naturally have slightly higher HR.

When you are looking at the running chart, it should be something like this:

You can also tap and hold on the chart, then slide your finger over the chart and you will see specific values at that moment at the top.

]]>2014-11-21T15:17:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/run-5k-the-best-couch-to-5k-running-iphone-appFormerly known as “Try Couch to 5k”, Run 5k is now available on the App Store. Just few hours it was approved, editors included it among “best new apps” on the store’s front page.

This is huge update. Previous version was built with iOS 6 in mind and this one is a whole new app. It requires iOS 8 and includes the following improvements and new features.

New detailed charts which allow you to examine the correlation between the pace and heart rate

New, redesigned running view, with the clear large numbers, easy to see during the run

Light and dark theme, with automatic switch between them, based on iPhone screen brightness

Added support for Apple Health

Features Today widget for Notification Center

Full support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Run 5k is free to try for the first two weeks with $4.99 one-time payment to unlock entire program. Please see the minisite for more details and demo video.

]]>2014-10-18T10:52:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/banca-featured-among-best-extensions-by-appleIn the Apple’s October 2014 event, in the segment about iOS 8’s first month in the wild, Apple’s Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi showed an app-icon-wall of the best App Extensions. Among them, sitting pretty in green, was our own Banca currency converter. This is a big thing for one-man indie development shop like mine and makes me very proud.

“Looking handsome, am I? (you too Craig, you too)”

A week before, Banca was listed among Best new apps on the iPhone App Store in US and quite a few other countries.

“”

All in all, October was a good month. :)

It’s not stopping there – it’s worth noting that Banca is among the first apps to support landscape orientation on both iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. I sure hope you are finding a good use for it in your daily work.

]]>2014-10-07T10:07:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/improved-widget-in-banca-6-dot-1New version of Banca received high praise, both from customers and the media – thanks all! It means a lot to continue working on it. First update is already on its way to review, with few notable fixes and new features.

First – iCloud sync is fixed. Apple changed the way some underlying APIs in iOS 8 and I missed to notice this in time. The effect was that Banca thinks that iCloud is turned off thus does nothing – neither reads nor writes to it. This is hopefully corrected for good, in 6.1.

Second – the much praised pasteboard functionality in the widget will work even more reliably in 6.1 with better detections of the boundaries of the currency string. In previous version, widget would pickup what looks like a currency value inside a larger continuous stream of characters – say those weird YouTube URLs. Thus you would copy/paste such URL and when later opening the Notification Center suddenly see 7 Guatemala Quetzal (GTQ) appears out of nowhere in Banca widget. :) This will work better in 6.1.

Third – a new feature: double-tap the source value and you will see a short list of few typical numbers – 100, 200, 500 – plus last copied value. Plus Banca will now remember that you changed this, thus next time you open the widget that chosen value will stay unless you copied something new into the pasteboard, in the meantime. This is much harder to explain in words than to show in app :).

]]>2014-09-30T10:56:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/banca-currency-converter-today-widget-for-ios-8As I write this, Banca v6 is “in review” at Apple. The app is fully updated for iOS 8 and supports new iPhones in the best way suitable for their expanded screens. On iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Banca now supports landscape with the keypad on the side.

“Landscape support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus”

The true star of this release is the Today widget, which is best showcased using the video:

There’s a whole host of functionality under this beatiful interface. By default, widget will use 100 as the source value and source and target currency are the last one you used in the main app.

“Collapsed state of the widget”

Tap the arrow at the bottom to expand the widget and you will see more currencies. More importantly, tap any currency on the left and it will become new source currency.

Tap any value on the right and it’s copied to pasteboard, ready to be pasted into any other app, email, text message.

But the best yet: say you see a foreign currency value on some website and want to know how much is in your money – then select it (you don’t have to be precise) and open the widget. It will parse the string, extract both the currency (if possible) and the value and automatically use them as source and do the conversion.

]]>2014-09-18T14:45:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/ios-8-updatesiOS 8 is live and it’s really, really awesome. I totally recommend it to anyone using iOS 7 at the moment. There are so much new stuff to play with, that the possible level of quality apps is now very, very high. Much respect to all at Apple who made this possible over last several years.

Live version of Couch to 5k app is still an over-a-year-old v3. The UI and features you see on the minisite here is what’s already ready in v4. However, this update is not live, for two reasons:

Banca and Unitica were both recently updated, but I’m not stopping there. There are awesome things in works, with multiple extension points for both apps. So far, I have not seen that any of the competing apps have implemented an extension like the one I’m working on. Can’t wait to publish this.

Banca is first in line, followed by Unitica.
ETA: early October for Banca, early November for Unitica.

And there’s a suprise that should already be on the Store – Convertica bundle that includes both apps for about 30% OFF the regular price. If you already have one of the apps, you can complete the bundle for a fraction of the price.

Note: all upcoming updates will be iOS 8 only – thus don’t hesitate to update your devices to iOS 8.

]]>2014-04-18T10:18:00+02:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/design-process-for-units-2I wrote a very extensive article about the design process for Units convert 2. I went back through the source code and recorded lots of movies (25 or so) of the app in various stages of development. I explain the issues, options I considered and the reason why I chose the final result.

I always learn a lot from articles like this and I hope this will be useful to many of you as well.

]]>2014-02-13T11:47:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2014/units-convert-2-dot-0When I visited UI Lab at the Tech Talks in Berlin, I had one goal: to hear what Apple designers thought about the UI decisions I made in Units 1.0. The outcome was: “this app has some real gems in it, but also several issues that should be taken care of”.
In mid December, I set out to work on those issues and ended spending a good portion of last two months working on Units 2.0, far exceeding the original goals.

In this post, I’ll go through many changes and improvements over version 1.

Smooth unit scrolling

First thing was the most glaring one – I figured out the correct code to properly slide in and out the units, when they pass below the text-input field

In 1.0, this pass-under animation did not happen – only when the scrolling would stop, app will figure out what unit is under the text field and then animate it down. This was very jarring if you use the scrolling a lot, thus was the first on the fix list.

This was just a start.

Consistent usage of UI elements

The text field where you enter values was not showing in two different positions. On favorites view, it was fixed to top of the screen. In unit category screen, it was fixed near the top, leaving room for exactly one unit to be displayed above it. I did this to show that units can be scrolled up and down, to make it easy to see that units go above the text field and you can tap them or pull them down.

Apple designer I spoke with proposed (in hindsight) an obvious solution – always make it centered between the top and bottom edge, with or without the keyboard shown.

Clear and simple navigation

The search functionality is very important in data-rich app like Units is. Thus I implemented it on main screen, category screen and also on the favorites screen. That can lead the user to create an unnecessary deep navigation stack, like this:

If you mix-in a switch to favorites somewhere in there, it can be a real mess with the most obvious problem – to get back to main screen, you need to tap back a lot.

In Units 2.0, I fixed it rather simply: instead of adding views to the navigation hierarchy, I would replace them. Thus in case you do this:

main » unit cat 1 » search

tapping an item in the search screen would replace the last two and it will be:

main » unit cat 2

If you do this:

main » unit cat 1 » favs » search

Then tap on something, it will also be reverted back to simple two-step hierarchy above. This shallow hierarchy removes all the confusion, further enforced by the very clear use of top bar buttons. On main screen, you can go anywhere you want:

That’s about/help button, then settings and on the right you can switch to favorites or open search screen. Or choose specific unit category in the grid below.

On unit category, both buttons on the left are replaced with icon representing the main grid, while the right side is the same.

If you switch to Favorites, right side contains only the search button, while the left side is leading you back to main or the originating category:

Thus very clear and simple.

Custom themes – fonts and colors

Helvetica Neue, the iOS 7 system font, looks rather dull when used in a text-heavy app like Units. I much prefer the feel of Avenir (or Avenir Next). Thus I spent few weeks working on this settings screen and related functionality:

You can use system font and its set size, but you can also choose a specific font and set your own size inside the app.

Along with that, you can choose among 14 primary colors and 4 background colors, thus giving you the ability to set the app to your liking.

Dynamic type

This kind of utility app, where there is a lot of text, is perfect candidate for one of iOS 7 headline features – dynamic type. To properly support this however, it means that all the layouts must adapt to the changes in the font size. This had to work with both the system font and size as well as in-app custom settings.

I’m pretty proud how this turned out – it works beautifully, with unit cells expanding proportionally to the chosen size.

Best looking numbers on the App Store

Units displays a lot of numbers and thus lends itself to the use of another headline feature of iOS 7 – TextKit. It’s a framework that gives developers amazing typographic control.

Specifically in Units, I used superscripts to display very large or very small numbers in a very clear way:

Even more importantly, I have used settings that allow better, more compact numbers. This is hard to explain in words and much easier to show how numbers would look like with or without this feature applied:

Look at the spacing around “1” – the upper looks much more balanced.

Custom animations

iOS 7 is overflowing with animation. Custom transitions and springy animations are my favorite feature in iOS 7 and I made good use of them all. When you transition to specific category and return back to main screen, app uses spatial transition that leaves no doubt where you came from, similar to what system Calendar app is doing.

When you transition to Favorites and back, there’s subtle 3D effect applied, to emphasize that you’re switching to a different context of use.

However, my favorite animation in the app is adding to favorites and removing as well. It’s fully interactive, it’s fun and serves the purpose perfectly.

In conclusion…

I’m very proud and happy with this release. It’s a very complex app under the hood but very obvious and useful when you use it. Favorites on one screen is extremely useful feature I use almost daily – I hope many more of you will find it worthwhile.

]]>2013-12-31T16:22:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2013/banca-4-dot-2As I write this, Banca 4.2 is in review. This update is result of feedback I received from Apple designers (I asked for it), both directly or at the recent Tech Talks, in Berlin.

The main change is visual. Fonts are larger than before and I took the opportunity to use Helvetica Neue Light, more white space and much stronger colors. The background line that depicts the current pair of currencies is removed, as it made no sense – Banca automatically converts to all the currencies in the opposite column, thus this pair represents nothing special.

“Fresher look, with more white space”

Further, when you choose source currency, that currency is removed from the opposite column, as X to X conversion is a waste of space.

The source currency is now always vertically centered, with or without the keyboard. Previously it was fixed to one row below the top, but this created less than optimal layout on iPhone 4 and 4S. This new layout makes for more pleasant experience on all devices.

In earlier version, keyboard dismissal happened when you scroll any of the columns. In practice though, over extended usage, this proved to be irritating due to accidental scrolls. In 4.2, to dismiss the keyboard you need to swipe down, over the keys. This is more natural and I tried to emphasize this with small 3-line graphic at the top of the keyboard, the same I do to hint at horizontal swipe for collapsing the calculator part.

“A hint that you can dismiss the keyboard by swiping down over it”

Lastly, I simplified the search for new currency. There is no need to choose the scope – wether you’re searching country or currency names – now simply type and the app will filter per both, as well as currency code.

]]>2013-12-18T11:27:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2013/units-a-true-ios-7-unit-converterThere are many unit converters on the App Store. It’s the kind of app that looks easy to build, has lots of “meat” to work with and affords huge space to work in, in terms of design and visual language. Thus it’s no wonder that many app developers try their hand there.
When iOS 7 came out, I felt there’s an opportunity to do something in this space, for several reasons.

Units app is the result and I want to share some details of the design thinking behind it.

First reason – most of the existing converters on the market were built with emphasis on really strong, graphically heavy design. Most of them, especially the most successful ones, would find it really hard to shed their former UI and re-do from scratch. I know very well how hard that is – I did it with Banca and it’s a given that some chunk of your customer base will be…well, irked, to say the least.

Second – this app and this content is amazingly well suited to make good use of iOS 7 technologies, namely custom transitions. Hierarchical structure of the information lends itself very well to spatial transitions, where it’s paramount to keep the customer aware where they are in the sea of available content. You can see this in iOS 7 Calendar app and it fits perfectly here as well.

Third – and the most important – I was not aware of any unit converter that had the feature that I consider the most important to have. And that’s the headline Units’ feature – ability to compile a list of unit pairs, regardless of their category and have them all available on the same screen – the favorites.

“Favorite unit pairs – Units’ main feature”

That was the essential design goal. You need to have a broad unit support (I plan to add a lot more in upcoming updates) but most of the time you are really using just several well chosen pairs. For me, that list is:

mph to km/h

miles to kilometers

square foots to square meters

Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius

Possibly few others. And that’s it.

Forth – when I want to convert some units, I don’t want to hunt through menus and submenus and such – I want to type few letters and to find the proper unit. Hence the instant Search feature in Units, available from any screeen. Once you locate the unit you need, tap and it will open that unit’s category view, preselect the desired unit and instantly convert to all the other units in the category.

“Instant search results as you type”

I strongly believe that Units is an excellent example of the kind of apps I want Radiant Tap to be known for – simple, efficient and beautiful. Take a look at the video below to see more. It’s a quick and dirty recording of what the app does – a better video is in the works, once few more UI improvements are implemented.

]]>2013-11-21T14:29:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2013/automatic-currency-population-in-banca-4-dot-1This morning, I released Banca 4.1. There are few new features and several important bug fixes.

New features

Banca uses your location to automatically add the currency for the country you’re currently in – great for frequent travelers

Use long-press (tap and hold) on the delete key to clear all digits

New support option: watch demo video inside the app

Of those, I think that automatic currency population is the most worthwhile. Whenever you start the app, Banca will get your location and figure out in what country you are in. If the currency for that country is not in the list, it will be automatically added – a great new feature for frequent travelers. Your location is used exclusively for the described functionality, nothing else.

This feature is added through customer suggestions, thus if you have cool ideas, please contact us.

Bug fixes

4.1 also brings fixes for the following bugs:

decimal numbers are not recognizes if decimal separator is not “.”

when removing currencies, Remove button sometimes appear half-drawn

swiping back the calculator keypad is not working when app is installed on the iPad

country list in the “add new currency” view appears empty in rare situations

in rare cases, “NaN” might appear instead of the number

very rare crash due to invalid conversion rate data

Lastly, if you like the app, please take some few minutes to leave a review on the App Store. You can find the appropriate link in the Support page inside the app.

]]>2013-11-09T21:35:00+01:00http://radianttap.com/blog/2013/banca-for-ios-7Banca – my currency converter app – was originally done with iOS 5 in mind. It’s the app with which I tried all kinds of business models, but ultimately found that for utilities like this, only one thing works: an affordable paid app.

“Wonderful new UI with warm colors”

Banca 4 is almost a complete rewrite – more than 90% of the code is new. The main functionality has also changed for the better – Banca now automatically converts to all the chosen currencies, at once. It’s very easy to manage the currencies.

Application is sporting entirely new UI and new icon, in line with iOS 7 guidelines. I knew that this would a bad thing for some people, but there was clearly no choice; old UI and all the themes were 110% skeuomorphic, something that new iOS left in the dust.

I did my best to apply the new motion stuff with care and subtle touch. Springy animations are used where applicable and only if they don’t hinder the speed and usability of the app.

But above all, I’m most proud of the custom new keyboard. It’s adaptable little thing – you can swipe out the calculator keypad if you don’t need it and just as easily bring it back when you do. I prefer to not use the calculator which gives me nice big keys to tap on.

See the demo video, it’s the best way to feel what it’s like apart from actually using it. Trust me – screenshots don’t do it justice.

Banca for iOS 7 is free update for existing customers or $1.99 for new ones. No launch promotion, no sales of any kind – that’s the price I’m sticking with and I believe it’s more than worth it.

It’s available worldwide, so go get it and let me know what you think. Good feedback is always welcome – some wonderful suggestions are already implemented for 4.1.